End of an Era
by Demosthenes23
Summary: Continuation of 709. Spoilers obviously.


**My original idea was rated M...mostly for really graphic violence but then I decided against that as I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy this.**

* * *

Murdoch awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. It had been another one of _those_ nightmares. The ones where James Gillies mashed his vile lips against his own. He had hoped to forget, to put it in the past but he simply could not. Not as long as he believed Gillies to still be out there. Everyone else was so certain that he must have drowned, after all, Murdoch himself who was far more sturdy had been knocked out unconscious from such a drop. But they had dragged the bottom of the stream several times and had not been able to locate his body. Until Murdoch saw the life finally leave that demons eyes, he could not believe it was over.

Publicly he appeared his calm and collected self but in private, when no one was around, not even Julia, he would come undone and his heart would race with worry and all strength would leave his body. That monster had taunted Julia, saying he wasn't finished with her yet, and Murdoch well believed him. Would they never catch a break? When could they finally be happy together?

And so the weeks passed by, every minute of which he expected Gillies to return to torment them some more. But nothing ever happened, everything remained the same, including his relationship with Julia. He had been so close to finally proposing but now, now that he was so unravelled, he could not in good conscience contemplate such a thing. She deserved better than that.

Fed up with waiting around for something to happen, he decided for once to take matters into his own hands. Every spare minute he had now was devoted in his quest to find Gillies. Eventually Julia couldn't help but notice and questioned him about it, wondering why they didn't seem to be spending much time together any more. Unwilling to lie to her after everything they had been through, he told her the truth.

"You're doing _what_?!" she said loudly. "William, we've been through this many times already! It's over! Gillies is dead! He's not coming back!"

The last had been said somewhat hysterically and he knew that she wasn't entirely convinced herself.

"You have to let this go!"

"Because you did such a good job of it the last time?!" he snapped. "How many months did you avoid me after Darcy died?! How long did you blame yourself for his demise?! Did you ever _really_ let it go?!"

"That's different!" she shrieked. "He killed my husband! All you did was let him escape again!"

"Aha!" he yelled, pointing a finger at her. "So you _do_ believe that he's still out there!"

"Fine! Yes! I do! But the difference is I'm not letting it dictate my life any longer! You've become obsessed with catching him! It's ruining your life! It's ruining _both_ of our lives! Did you ever stop to think that this was exactly what he wanted?!"

Those words struck a cord with him, but only momentarily. Then he shrugged them off and stormed out on her.

* * *

Several more days passed by in which they didn't talk at all and his mood gradually became even gloomier than it had already been. Finally when he was at his lowest, something akin to how he felt after making the conscious decision to let Julia get married, he had a breakthrough! He had located Gillies!

Not thinking clearly, he headed to the location on his own, with only a pistol for defence. The rural house in which Gillies was staying was far removed from anything. It was the perfect place to lay low while he hatched more devilish schemes. Murdoch was determined to put a stop to those once and for all.

The closer he got to the building, the more anxious he became, the more he started to doubt himself. What if he failed? What if even with the element of surprise in the dead of night, Gillies still managed to have the upper hand as he had done so many times before? Steeling himself against such thoughts, he crept up to a darkened window and peered within. No one seemed to be home.

Wary of any traps surrounding the premises, he kept a vigilant eye peeled. There didn't appear to be anything that would incapacitate him. Making his way to the back door, he retrieved his skeleton key and slowly headed on in. Not daring to use his flashlight lest he alert Gillies to his presence, he stumbled around in the near dark, doing a cursory sweep, gun aloft. There was no one on the ground floor so he moved to the second level, taking his time on the stairs to avoid any creaking. At the second last bedroom, he saw a sleeping figure and approached, gun hand beginning to shake, despite himself.

Taking a deep breath, he abruptly turned on the light and said, "Hands up, Gillies! You're under arrest!"

Gillies didn't stir. Murdoch nudged him with the end of his gun. And still nothing happened. Murdoch grabbed Gillies and turned him over, only to immediately realize that he had been duped yet again! This was just a manikin with a wig on!

"I'm afraid he's not the most chatty of individuals," said the odious voice from behind.

He whirled around, unnerved, pistol at the ready. It took all of his resolve not to simply shoot him right here and now, clean between the eyes. Likely no one would question it. But he wanted to at least attempt to see this thing through properly, wanted the law to win out in the end so that he could believe in the system again.

"You're under arrest! Put your hands up where I can see them!"

Gillies simply smirked at that. "I must say, detective, I was ever so flattered at your eagerness to be reunited with me. I missed you too."

Murdoch simply gaped at him. Throat constricting he said quietly, "You, you led me here? Didn't you?"

"But of course, detective. When have you ever been able to locate me when I didn't _want_ you to? I had intended our reunion to be different...more explosive...but well, I wanted to make you _happy_ so I helped you find me." His demented smile widened, "Because that's what good friends do."

His trigger finger itched terribly and he was afraid he would lose his resolve at any moment.

"You don't want to talk? That's all right," Gillies said, taking a step closer to him, pushing him towards the bed, "there are other things we can do instead."

"Stay back!" he said forcefully, heart pounding. Gillies took another step, still smiling, always smiling. "I'm warning you, Gillies! I _will_ shoot you if you come any closer!"

"Oh, I don't think you will, detective."

Back now against the wall, Gillies was a mere foot away from him, staring at him pleasantly.

"Put the gun away. There's no need for violence. I know why you're really here. And it's not to kill or arrest me."

"What do you mean?" he said sharply.

"Come now, William, we both know you can't stop thinking about that kiss."

This was the second time Gillies had called him by his christian name. The previous time was on the train ride from hell.

"I know I can't."

"You're wrong! I hated you for that! What on earth possessed you to do such a disgusting thing in the first place?"

Gillies looked at him bemused for a moment before replying. "Why, because I _wanted_ to, detective. You're a very attractive man. I simply couldn't help myself. So you see, I'm very glad that we're alone again. Now we can finish what we started."

Gillies reached out and touched his hand, making Murdoch's skin crawl in revulsion. "Put the gun away. I promise I won't bite...much."

He felt like vomiting, not unlike that night on the tracks, but somehow kept the bile down his throat.

"Get your hand off me or I swear to God, I will pull this trigger!"

Gillies kept his hand there.

"Deny it all you want, detective, but deep down, I know you like me. I give your life meaning and purpose. What more can you ask for?"

"You're completely delusional, Gillies! You're a monster! No one could ever love you, let alone like you!"

"I think the lady doth protest too much."

Gillies traced a finger along his skin and that was it, Murdoch snapped, pulling the trigger. Gillies stumbled back a few paces, hand to his chest, staring at the blood with rapt fascination. It was hard to say who was more surprised. Murdoch had only ever killed one man before this and that had been in self defence. This was cold blooded murder, something as low as the man in front of him.

"You shot me?" Glaring at him angrily, "You actually shot me!"

"What did you _think_ was going to happen? I did warn you."

"But you weren't supposed to!" he whined. "We were supposed to-"

Gillies fell to his knees and coughed up some blood. Murdoch knew he must have punctured a lung and it was only a matter of time now before his breathing ceased to function. Even so, he felt like he should be attempting to save him. But Murdoch was rooted to the spot, still transfixed by what he had done.

When Gillies couldn't even hold that position any longer, he landed hard on his side, blood pooling around him. He started to wheeze and glancing up at Murdoch with fast glazing eyes said something. Murdoch could not make it out because his voice was so weak.

Warily, he crouched down beside him. Gillies reached out to touch his shoe. "Don't forget me...William."

The dying man violently spasmed and then it was over. Murdoch was sure this time. He had seen the light leaving his eyes and the stupid smile finally leave his face. Still, the detective checked for a pulse, leaving his fingers on his neck for much longer than he needed to. Then he raised the same ones up and crossed himself, asking God for forgiveness in the process.

For some time he remained squatted, just staring at the corpse. It was hard to believe that after all the torment this man had put them through, a single bullet was enough to take him done once and for all. Murdoch had half believed him to be invincible, having survived a fall he should not have been able to.

He debated what next to do. Logically and legally he was obligated to call this in. But a part of him was afraid of what would happen if he did. Gillies seemed to always have been one step ahead of him. What if by killing him, Murdoch just doomed himself? What if this was somehow a trap?

Shaking such paranoid thoughts aside, he stood up, feeling extremely weary and called the station house.

* * *

"William!" exclaimed Julia as she hopped out of the carriage and into his arms. "Are you all right?"

He breathed in her lovely scent and just enjoyed this close contact for the first time in quite awhile.

"Yes, Julia, I'm fine. A bit shaken, but fine."

She parted slightly in order to look him in the eyes. "It's over then? For certain?"

He nodded and she embraced him tightly again.

"I should have been helping you. You shouldn't have had to do this alone. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Julia. It was my decision to come here alone. I think I needed to do this for myself."

She pulled away again and looked a bit timid. "So...you purposely killed him?"

Murdoch sighed deeply. "It wasn't my intent at first but I'm afraid I let him...get inside my head."

"I know the feeling, William," she said taking his hand and squeezing it. "I've little doubt I would have done the same thing in your position. I hope you won't feel too badly about this." Her face hardened. "Gillies deserved what he got and more." Glancing at him, "Let's just keep this between you and me, shall we? It's probably not the wisest decision to go telling the inspector all the particulars...though I'm sure he would understand. If he's ignorant of the truth, he can't get you into any trouble."

"I've already told him everything." Julia seemed worried. "Gillies was a fugitive, Julia, several times over in fact. No one is going to question if the killing was just or not."

They were silent for awhile.

"Would you like to see the body? Dr. Grace is still examining it."

She was thoughtful for a moment. "I had intended to bear witness to his demise...but now I don't feel as though I need to."

"His brain is intact." Julia's eyes snapped to his. "I thought you'd like to know."

"I've no doubt there is something wrong with it. If nothing else, his death will help shed some light into such disturbing tendencies. It's possible that with time, a treatment could even be developed."

"I pray that you are right, Julia. I fear that the future holds more killers like him, in ever increasing numbers."

"Let's not think about such things right now. Let's just get you out of here. You must be exhausted."

_You have no idea._

They headed into the waiting carriage and she rested her head on his shoulder all the way home.


End file.
